A stroll in the Grand Canyon.
Thích Quảng Đức (English pronunciation: i/ˌtɪtʃ ˌkwɒŋ ˈdʊk/ tich kwong duuk; 釋廣德; 1897 – 11 June 1963, born Lâm Văn Tức), was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963. Đức was protesting the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam’s Roman Catholic government led by Ngô Đình Diệm.
Photos of his self-immolation were circulated widely across the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diệm regime. Malcolm Browne won a Pulitzer Prize for his renowned photograph of the monk’s death. After his death, his body was re-cremated, but his heart remained intact. This was interpreted as a symbol of compassion and led Buddhists to revere him as a bodhisattva, (heroic-minded one (satva)) for enlightenment, heightening the impact of his death on the public psyche.
